Joseph hobaet



(No Model.)

J. HOBART.

ALMOND HULLER.

No. 353,857. Patented Dec. 7, 1886.

N, PETERS PmlaL-uw m her. Wuhmglmh D. C,

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH HOBART, OF NORDHOFF, CALIFORNIA.

ALMOND-HULLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 353,857, dated December7, 1886.

Application filed June 2, 1886. Serial No. 203,970. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JosEPH HOBART, of Nordhoff, Ventura county, State ofCalifornia, have invented an Improvement in Almond- Hullers; and Ihereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the same. i

My invention relates to a new and useful machine for hulling almonds;and it consists in various details of construction and combinations ofparts, all of which I shall hereinafter fully describe and claim.

The object of my invention is to provide a simpleand effective machinefor hulling almonds.

Almonds have usually been hulled by hand,

and with a large crop this is a tedious and laborious operation; butwith a machine such as I have invented the work of hulling is performedquickly, and at much less expense than by any other method of which I amat present aware.

Referring to the accompanying drawings for a more complete explanationof my invention, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my almondhuller. Fig.2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same.

A is the bed or frame. This consists of suitable side strips, a, andbottom longitudinal strips. a, which are separated or spaced from eachother. The frame is preferably set at an inclination, as shown, thisbeing accomplished in any suitable manner, as by the legs B under itsupper end.

Across the bottom longitudinal strips, a, of the frame are laid thetransverse parallel slats C, which form the bottom surface of said bedor frame. These slats are spaced or separated from each other, wherebyopenings are left between them. They may be arranged all at the sameheight, so as to give a smooth sur face; but this I deem inferior to thearrangement by which a broken or uneven surface is made. This may beaccomplished by using slats of different heights or thicknesses, or byhaving the slats all of the same dimensions, and turning some on edge,while the others are laid flat. The slats may be arranged thus in anysuitable manner-as by placing them indiscriminately, or, as I have hereshown, by alternating a flat one with one set on edge.

At the head of the frame or bed is a piece or chute,,D, the object ofwhich is to direct the almonds to the surface of the bed in the propermanner.

E is the rubber, which consists of a piece having a handle, 6, by whichit is reciprooated. The rubber fits between the side strips of the bedor frame, and is of a width sufficient to permit its movement withoutundue friction, and yet snug enough to cover the width of the bottom ofsaid bed or frame. The face of the rubber is corrugated or ribbed. Thismay be done by the parallel spaced slats e, which may be arranged toform a smooth surface, or, as is preferable, an uneven one, in the samemanner that the uneven surface of the bed or frame is madethat is tosay, by arranging some of the slats on edge and some of them flat,either alternating or in any other manner. There is a groove, F, formedin the top of the inclined chute-piece D, which acts as a guide for thehandle of the rubber. The operation of my machine is as follows: Thealmonds are fed to the bed or frame A, and pass down upon the unevensurface of its bottom, and the rubber is then reciprocated over thealmonds, whereby their hulls are broken and separated from the nuts. Thehulls thus separated and broken fall down through the open bottom of thebed or frame, and the nuts pass down the incline to the base, where theyare collected. In this operation some of the nuts will of course bebroken; but these will fall through with the hulls and can be separatedtherefrom by any subsequent screening or sifting operation.

The advantage of making the surface of both the bed and the rubberuneven is that it facilitates the detaching and breaking of the hulls,because the almonds are caught between the elevated slats of the rubberand the bed, and meet with resistance enough to break their hulls.

It is obvious that the rubber may be driven by any suitable powermechanism as well as by hand, and that in connection with the machine afeed-hopper and such other accessories may be used; but these I havedeemed it unnecessary to describe or to illustrate.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an almond-huller, the combination of a frame or bed having abottom composed of transverse parallel spaced slats of unequal height,upon which the almonds rest. with a reciprocating rubber operating onthe almonds upon the slats of said bottom, substantially as hereindescribed.

2. In an almond-huller, the combination of a frame or bed having abottom composed of parallel transverse spaced slats, upon which,

slat-s or strips of different height or thickness, whereby a broken oruneven surface is formed, substantially as herein described.

4. An almond-huller comprising the inclined bed or frame A,'having abottom composed of' the transverse parallel spaced slats 0, having adifferent height or thickness, whereby a broken or uneven surface isformed, the inclined plane or chute D at the head of the frame or bed A,the rubber E, having a face composed of parallel spaced slats or strips0", of a different height or thickness, and a handle, e, by which it isreciprocated, substantially as herein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JOSEPH HOBART.

Wit ness es:

L. G. 'MoK-EELEY, I. H. WARRING.

